Below the Line

Rain Li was born and raised in Beijing, China. A passion for Cinema and TV led her to enter into the film industry as an electrician / spark on short films, commercials and feature films, moving to the camera department six months later at the age of 16. By age twenty-six, she had shot ten features, twenty-five short films, numerous popular commercials, music videos and also interesting art and fashion projects. She is currently developing more ideas towards projects bridging fine art, photography and film. Since early 2005, she has been collaborating with renowned cinematographer/director Christopher Doyle ('In the Mood for Love', 'Hero' 'Rabbit Proof Fence', 'Lady in the Water' etc), on twelve projects to date. She has also collaborated with many internationally renown directors, including Jim Jarmusch, Gus Van Sant and Mike Figgis. Her recent film, Paranoid Park, by Gus Van Sant, received a Special Prize of International Cannes Film Festival 60th Anniversary in 2007. She was voted one of the 10 Best Cinematographers of The Year by Variety in 2007 and received the Best Cinematography award from the Boston Film Critic in 2009, shared with Christopher Doyle. She is also a Creative Director of London-based production company 'Pure Film'. Rain is constantly looking for new ideas and energies to apply to visuals.